Mediterranean island biodiversity and climate change: the last 10,000 years and the future

Vogiatzakis, Ioannis Ν.; Mannion, Antoinette M.; Sarris, Dimitrios

doi:10.1007/s10531-016-1204-9

Cited by 65 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 169 publications

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“…Global change has sharpened focus on the vulnerability of Mediterranean islands to past, present and future climate modifications (Vogiatzakis et al, 2016). Profound human impacts and climate risk are notable challenges to small islands, such as the Maltese archipelago, because their pressure absorption ability is lower than for continents.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire as a motor of rapid environmental degradation during the earliest peopling of Malta 7500 years ago

Marriner

Kaniewski

Gambin

et al. 2019

Quaternary Science Reviews

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The Holocene colonisation of islands by humans has invariably led to deep-seated changes in landscape dynamics and ecology. In particular, burning was a management tool commonly used by prehistoric societies and it acted as a major driver of environmental change, particularly from the Neolithic onwards. To assess the role of early human impacts (e.g. livestock grazing, forest clearance and the cultivation of marginal land) in shaping "pristine" island landscapes, we here present a 350-year record of fire history and erosion from Malta, straddling the earliest peopling of the island. We show that recurrent anthropogenic burning related to Neolithic agro-pastoral practices began~7500 years ago, with well-defined fire-return intervals (FRI) of 15e20 years that engendered erosion and rapid environmental degradation. As early as the Neolithic, this study implies that, in sensitive insular contexts, just a few generations of human activities could rapidly degrade natural islandscapes.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire as a motor of rapid environmental degradation during the earliest peopling of Malta 7500 years ago

Marriner

Kaniewski

Gambin

et al. 2019

Quaternary Science Reviews

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“…that have an endemism rate of more than 40% [26]. In fact, the characteristic Mediterranean insular traits, such as different geographic situations (some islands are close, and others far away from the mainland), as well as their geographic and paleogeographic evolution (some islands have been isolated for a long time, while others have not), show particular features of plant diversity and association, so that as a result, within the Mediterranean Basin, islands and islets (and archipelagos) possess flora of exceptional diversity and represent the principal centers of plant diversity, particularly due to the restricted range of most of their flora [23][24][25][26][27]. Concurrently, it is also accepted that such plant diversity is seriously threatened due to numerous factors (physical, biological and anthropogenic); therefore, many plants on these islands need pressing measures, including, but not restricted to, protection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plant richness in the Mediterranean islands is correlated with many anthropogenic activities that have a negative effect on plant distributions and dynamics. Over the last four millennia, the Mediterranean Basin has been the cradle of several of the world's greatest civilizations, a condition which has resulted in the overexploitation of soil and the conversion of natural habitats into agricultural landscapes [27]. Moreover, the Mediterranean Basin is one of the most susceptible regions to climate change, exposing the Mediterranean islands to unique challenges [27][28][29]; in addition, it is also documented that climate change will exacerbate these threats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Common Approach to the Conservation of Threatened Island Vascular Plants: First Results in the Mediterranean Basin

et al. 2020

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The Mediterranean islands represent a center of vascular plant diversity featuring a high rate of endemic richness. Such richness is highly threatened, however, with many plants facing the risk of extinction and in need of urgent protection measures. The CARE-MEDIFLORA project promoted the use of ex situ collections to experiment with in situ active actions for threatened plants. Based on common criteria, a priority list of target plant species was elaborated, and germplasm conservation, curation and storage in seed banks was carried out. Accessions were duplicated in the seed banks of the partners or other institutions. Germination experiments were carried out on a selected group of threatened species. A total of 740 accessions from 429 vascular plants were stored in seed banks, and 410 seed germination experiments for 283 plants species were completed; a total of 63 in situ conservation actions were implemented, adopting different methodological protocols. For each conservation program, a specific monitoring protocol was implemented in collaboration with local and regional authorities. This project represents the first attempt to develop common strategies and an opportunity to join methods and methodologies focused on the conservation of threatened plants in unique natural laboratories such as the Mediterranean islands.

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“…A range of examples validate the existence of the negative effects of changing climate upon tourism resources. For instance, change in climate may lead to coral bleaching (Cheablam & Shrestha, 2014), snow melting (Buckley, 2017), beach erosion (Pendleton et al, 2011), decrease biodiversity (Vogiatzakis, Mannion, & Sarris, 2016) and wetland conservation loses (Wall, 1998).…”

Section: Impacts Of Climate Change To Tourism Resources In the Mekongmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Climate Change to Tourism Sector in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

Huynh¹,

Piracha²,

Saul³

2019

RES

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Mekong Delta Region of Vietnam is forecasted to have one of world’s most severe impacts from climate change. There is a big knowledge gap in research on climate change impacts on tourism in this area. While climate change’s impacts on agriculture and fisheries have received much attention from authorities and researchers, impacts on tourism have largely been ignored. This paper presents findings from a field study the authors conducted to fill the research gap on climate change’s impact on tourism in Mekong River Delta. The study based on spatial analysis and questionnaires and interviews of local tourism leaders, tourism businesses and tourists discovered that climate change is a real challenge for region’s tourism businesses. Vulnerable tourism businesses in low and flat delta such as Mekong needs more attention and practical actions from international organizations and local entities in the era of climate change threats.

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Mediterranean island biodiversity and climate change: the last 10,000 years and the future

Cited by 65 publications

References 169 publications

Fire as a motor of rapid environmental degradation during the earliest peopling of Malta 7500 years ago

Fire as a motor of rapid environmental degradation during the earliest peopling of Malta 7500 years ago

A Common Approach to the Conservation of Threatened Island Vascular Plants: First Results in the Mediterranean Basin

Impact of Climate Change to Tourism Sector in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

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